Release-rod for air-brakes



(No Iodei.)

R. H. OATLETT.

RELEASE ROD FOR AIR BRAKES. I No 597,814. Patented JanQZB, 1898.

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attowmqoq UNITED STATES PATENT moon, 7

ROBERT H. CATLETT, OF TRINIDAD, COLORADO.

RELEASE-ROD FOR AIR-BRAKES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 597,814, dated January25, 1898.

Application filed October 12, 18 97. Serial No. 654,969. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern-.-

Be it known-that 1, ROBERT H. CATLETT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Trinidad, in the county of Las Animas and State of Colorado,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Release-Rods forAir- Brakes of Railway-Cars and I do declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to the release-rods of the air-brakes employed onrailway-cars, and more particularly to that class of air-brakes employedon box or freight cars; and the object is to provide a simple,convenient, and effective device for releasing the brakes from the roofof the car.

To this end the invention consists in the construction, combination, andarrangement of the device, as will be hereinafter more fully described,and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings the same reference characters indicate thesame parts of the invention.

Figure 1 is a plan view of one end of the bottom of a box, freight, orcoal car, showing the release-cock and my improved release-rod appliedthereto. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the car, showing the release-rodextending to the top of the car.

Heretofore the release-rod extended from the release-cock on theair-reservoir to the side of the car, and as the air-brakes often stickafter being applied, when the car is in motion the Wheels slide on therails and become flattened on the tread before the train can be sloweddown sufficiently to permit the train-hands to climb down from thecar-roof and bleed the air from the reservoir by opening therelease-cock through the medium of the release-rod extending to the sideof the car.

In my invention I provide an auxiliary release-rod, which in the case ofcoal or plat- ,form cars extends longitudinally to the end of the carand in thecase of box or similar cars extends from the end of the car,so that the release-cock maybe operated from either point while the caris in motion and without the necessity of leaving the car and goingaround to the side of the car, as is the present practice.

1 represents the air-reservoir, 2 the releasecoclgand 3 the ordinaryrelease-rod now in use.

4. represents a bell-crank lever conveniently fulcrumed to the bottom ofthe car, and its longitudinal arm 5 extends across the path of the rod3, to which it is pivoted by a bolt 6, extending through a slot in thearm and fixed in the rod. The outer end of the arm 5 is provided with aretractile spring 7, as shown. The transverse arm 8 of said bell-cranklever is pivoted to a longitudinal rod 9, which extends through aguide-bracket 10, so as to be conveniently operated from the front ofthe car, and is the form employed on coal and platform cars. A secondrod 12 is pivoted to the arm 8, and its forward end extends to thedepending arm of a bell-crank lever 13, fulc'rumed in the bracket 14:,fixed to the end of the car, and from the horizontal arm of saidbell-crank lever a vertical rod 15 extends through a guide-bracket nearthe car-roof.

From this construction it will be seen that the relief-valve can beoperated in the usual manner from the side of the car by means of therod 3, or in the case of coal and platform cars from the end of the carby the rod 9, and in the case of box-cars from both the end and roof ofthe car by the rod 15.

Although I have specifically described the construction and relativearrangement of the several elements of my invention, I do not desire tobe confined to the same, as such changes or modifications may be made asclearly fall within the scope of my invention without departing from thespirit thereof.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new anduseful, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States,

isi 1. The combination with a car, provided with an air-brake, theair-reservoir 1, the re-- and a release-cock, of the rod 3, thebell-crank V lever 4: formed with the slotted arm 5, the bolt 6connecting said slotted arm to said rod 3' and the retractiie springconnecting the outer 5' end of said arm to the car-body, the rod 12pivoted atone end to the transverse arm 8 of said lever, the bell-cranklever 13 having its 7 depending arm pivoted to said rod 12, and thevertical rod 15', pivoted at its lower end to'the 1o horizontal arm ofthe bell-crank lever 13, and

its upper end extending'th'rough'a, guidebreeket fixed near theca-r-roof, substantially as shown and described. 7

In testimony whereof I hereunto affiX'my signature in presence of twoWitnesses. I

ROBERT H. GATLETT.

' WVitnesses:

' J .B. HERSHEY,

F. E. COLE.

